Du Qi said seriously, "I support the war against foreign countries and the extermination of foreign invaders. But I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will not be blinded by victory. You can clearly realize that the Tang dynasty is still weak and can't afford to be tossed around. The people need Your Majesty to work hard so that they won't starve. "
After a pause, Du Qi continued, "I heard some news. There was a drought in Guanzhong this year, and many locusts appeared in various places. There is still famine everywhere in the world, and there are still refugees. At a time like this, this subject has said such inappropriate words. Please punish me, Your Majesty. "
Li Shimin looked quite serious before.
At this moment, he burst out laughing. His expression was rather relaxed.
Because Du Qi's intention was good.
Du Qi didn't deliberately target him.
Li Shimin said with a smile, "Erlang, I've already said that you are not guilty. You can say it. How can I punish you? What's more, what you said just now was very reasonable, and it came at the right time. "
"Take bronze as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes; take history as a mirror, you can know the rise and fall; take people as a mirror, you can see the gains and losses."
"Erlang's words were like morning bell and evening drum."
"I immediately woke up."
"Speaking of the Tang dynasty, although it has won the war against foreign countries, as Erlang said, the people in the world still have a hard time even though many taxes have been exempted."
"Drought, locusts, floods, and so on, the people's life is not easy."
Li Shimin looked at Du Qi and nodded approvingly. "Erlang's words are not only not guilty, but also meritorious. This poem of yours is even more fitting. It's not bad at all. Erlang, your words today really show that you have grown up and matured. You have a real breadth of mind and structure. "
Du Qi listened to Li Shimin's words and laughed in his heart.
Li Shimin was Li Shimin after all.
He had enough breadth of mind.
Du Qi said with a straight face, "Your Majesty is overpraising me. I was just speaking the truth. Such words were really not worth mentioning. If it were any other day, there would definitely be people who would advise His Majesty. It's just that I'm relying on Your Majesty's trust, so I dare to talk nonsense. "
Li Shimin said, "You are not babbling nonsense, it is priceless advice."
After a pause, Li Shimin asked, "Erlang, speaking of this time's punitive expedition against the Turks, we've achieved victory. Although you didn't personally go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, you still gave advice and suggestions and made meritorious contributions. In particular, Li Jing's battle report mentioned the plan to destroy the Turks, and you actively participated in it. Moreover, this general policy to destroy the Turks was also arranged by you. Your contributions are quite extraordinary. Tell me, what kind of reward do you want? Just tell me. As long as I can satisfy you, I will allow it. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
A smile appeared on Du Qi's face as he said, "If that's the case, I won't hold back."
Li Shimin said, "There's no harm in saying it."
Li Yuan said, "Erlang, if you have anything you want, just say it now. Now that you've made a great contribution, the Emperor should reward you. "
The gazes of the court officials all fell on Du Qi, with envy in their eyes.
On the contrary, it was Du Ruhui who shook his head at Du Qi.
He hoped that Du Qi would not raise any conditions.
Du Ruhui did not have any requests for Du Qi now. He only hoped that Du Qi would be safe and sound, and live a good life. As for other things, Du Ruhui did not have any requests.
Therefore, Du Ruhui hoped that Du Qi would not speak nonsense.
Du Qi said with a straight face, "Your Majesty, I hope to go to Suzhou and serve as the county magistrate of Jiuquan County."
Whoosh!!
When the court officials heard this, there was an uproar.
Suzhou was in Longyou Road, and even further west of Longyou Road, it was an extremely remote place.
No one expected that Du Qi wanted to go to Suzhou to serve as the county magistrate.
Li Shimin also did not expect this, because Du Qi's request was really abrupt.
Li Shimin thought for a moment, and said, "Erlang, you must know that the eastern part of Longyou Road is indeed under the control of the Tang dynasty. However, although the western part of Longyou Road is under the control of the Tang dynasty, in fact, the Tang dynasty's control of the local areas is almost non-existent. "
"Suzhou in the west of Longyou Road is already close to Guazhou and Shazhou. If we go further west, we will enter the area where the countries of the Western Region are located. The court cannot control these places at all, nor can they. "
"Erlang, going to these places is not a good job. Tell me, why do you suddenly want to serve in the Western Region? "
Li Shimin did not want Du Qi to take risks.
With a smile on his face, Du Qi said with certainty, "Your Majesty, the reason why I proposed to serve as the county magistrate of Jiuquan County in Suzhou is that I want to open the Silk Road and expand my business to the Western Region."
"Now in the Tang dynasty, my business has already set sail. As long as I fight steadily and surely, there will be no problems."
"If I want to expand, I can only go west."
"I can only deal with the merchants in the far west and the countries in the far west."
"Therefore, I earnestly request to go to the Western Region."
Du Qi said with assurance, and then said, "But it is not easy to go to the Western Region if you only want to do business. Because these places are intricate, everything is not easy. "
"After all, there are many places that the court cannot control."
"Especially there are many foreign races."
"Therefore, I hope to serve as the county magistrate in Suzhou. If I have an official position, then it will be much easier for me. "
Du Qi continued, "Of course, I have a third consideration. Now in the Western Region, the court does not have jurisdiction over it, and it is not easy to deal with it. After all, the court now focuses on domestic issues, and it must deal with domestic issues well. "
"Therefore, I hope that I can go west."
"On one hand, it is to open up the road to the Western Region. On the other hand, it is to serve as the county magistrate. Moreover, I hope to imitate Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, to make some achievements in the Western Region and expand the territory of the Tang dynasty."
"This is what I think."
Du Qi's expression was solemn, and he said, "I beg for Your Majesty's permission."
After hearing this, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and looked at Du Qi in front of him. He did not say anything and just looked at him. His eyes seemed to penetrate Du Qi's heart.
Du Qi, on the other hand, was calm and collected.
He did not say that he wanted to go west to build his own foundation.
He only said that he wanted to expand the trade route.
Only then would he have a cover.
All the officials present did not say anything, but many people thought that Du Qi was looking for trouble. He was enjoying a good life in the country, but he wanted to go to the Western Region to make trouble.
The Western Region was not like the Central Plains of the Tang dynasty.
In the land of the Western Region, the people were swift and fierce. Sometimes, there were people who rebelled and killed officials.
However, Du Qi just had to go to the Western Region.
After thinking for a long time, Li Shimin suddenly said, "Erlang, have you really thought it through?"
"Yes!"
Du Qi nodded solemnly and answered.
Originally, Li Yuan would not intervene at this time. He was already a person who had abdicated. However, when it came to Du Qi, Li Yuan was still very concerned. Just like how Li Jing conveyed Li Yuan's words after he went to war, it could be seen that Li Yuan was concerned about Du Qi.
This was not Li Yuan playing any tricks to win over Du Qi. It was purely because Li Yuan regarded Du Qi as a junior, so Li Yuan was concerned about Du Qi and hoped that Du Qi would calm down.
Li Yuan said, "Du Qi, don't be willful."
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